Ok so I have this friend who has a dog who is aggerssive when people try to touch her. By aggressive i mean she growls and sometimes runs away. She will take food from your hand but will not let you pet her. She will obey commands from people other than the family but she still wont let you touch her. Also she will sometimes lean aganist your leg but if you make a move to touch her she will growl and run away.
Is there a way to get her to let people pet her??
2007-07-27 09:05:47 · 11 answers · asked by Miss Murder 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
They adopted her about 5 years ago.
She was fine and let strangers pet her for the first year. The she started the growling. She lets the family pet her as much as they want....its strangers she doesnt like.
2007-07-27 09:23:11 · update #1
I dont understand how it would be fear when she has no problem laying aganist you and such. She will even do "Shake" ....so im unsure what the problem is :( She is a very loving dog to the family...but we want to socialize her for fear of her nipping someone if she ever ran away ect.
2007-07-27 11:34:05 · update #2
She is not aggressive. She is fearful. She will never chase you and attack you. But she will nip if you corner her. Just leave her alone. You are making matters worse by pursuing her. Don't do anything to cause her more fear or worse yet cause her to nip someone. She could be destroyed for that, and it would be a waste.
2007-07-27 10:45:20 · answer #1 · answered by mama woof 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
She is being very fearful. She is scare of strangers for some reason. You just need to go slow and gain her trust. A good way to start is to keep treats in your pocket any time you are going over to your friends house. Any time you walk by the dog give her a treat. Don't touch her or follow her, just give her a treat if you guys come across each other. It will take a while, but Eventually she should learn that this stranger = treats. And treats are good. If she starts to warm up to you a little more, get lower to the ground, and try to pet her on her side while giving her a treat. And slowly move forward from that point. When she gets a little better, if she knows some tricks, ask her to do her tricks for you. That usually relieves their anxiety. If your friend wants to change this behavior it would be best for her to talk to a dog behaviorist. Just don't let them tell her that she is being dominant, because she is not. She is very fearful.
2007-07-27 09:29:00 · answer #2 · answered by Stark 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like the dog has fear aggression. She was probably not socialized enough with people in her early years. I would maybe try giving her a treat that she really likes every time you see her. Then she will continue to associate new people with treats to make it positive. Good luck-
**How old is the dog?**
2007-07-27 09:20:45 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
She does not sound like she has been socialized properly. She has fearful aggression. It is possible they have not had her long and she'll adapt on her own and she starts to trust the family. If not, she'll need a trainer or behaviorist.
2007-07-27 09:14:04 · answer #4 · answered by Sandy Sandals 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i dont know if she has had this dog since it was born or not but most dogs that undergo abuse in their early years will become like that, and especially if the dog is still being abused or mistreated... either way you can take the dog to classes and she can be trained and maybe she can get trained and she will be used to being around more people as well as other dogs... this worked for one of my dogs and he's fine... my dog wasnt abused or anything he was just a lil too aggressive towards people he didnt know and it was just because he wasnt used to being around people he didnt know...
2007-07-27 09:17:07 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
She does not trust human touch. Her growling and running away is notice not to touch her.
Can the family touch her? If so, she just doesn't like strangers to touch her.
The behavior you are describing is not aggressive. It is fearful.
2007-07-27 09:10:47 · answer #6 · answered by maxmom 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's possible if that dog had bad owners or bad experiences before,I used to drag my dog around and it took her a long time to forgive me,especially when we think of dog's memories I guess my harm was so big for my dog,whatever she forgave me and stop being aggressive but some dogs also become aggresive when they're hungry or sleepy.just like us. so I dont pet her for my own good because when a dog shows that he/she is nervous and if you keep bothering them it's your fault I think..
2007-07-27 09:12:29 · answer #7 · answered by tywiena 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She is not aggressive, she is frightened.
Sometimes shyness can be helped (not cured) by proper socializing and training. Sometimes it can't.
Your friend needs to consult with an experienced behaviorist or trainer.
2007-07-27 09:09:44 · answer #8 · answered by DaBasset - BYBs kill dogs 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
She is scared. Actually I have seen many "trained" dogs that were completely fvcked up inside.
Dogs ain't machines.
2007-07-27 09:19:02 · answer #9 · answered by Rahaaa 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
when she is eating (if she isn't trying to bite) pet her, and if she runs away, stay there, she HAS to eat and soon she'll HAVE to let you pet her while she eats and eventually all the time...TRY IT
2007-07-27 09:10:43 · answer #10 · answered by GSD lover 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋